Five years ago this month, a prescribed burn turned awry destroyed hundreds of homes in Los Alamos, burned some 48,000 acres in and around the Lab and led to a short-term closure of the Laboratory.
Today, the Environmental Stewardship (ENV) Division will host a five-year retrospective colloquium on the short-term and longer-term environmental effects of the 2000 Cerro Grande fire. The unclassified colloquium is scheduled for 1 this afternoon in the Administration Building Auditorium at Technical Area 3. It is open to L- and Q-cleared Laboratory personnel. Normal escorting rules are in effect for admittance to the auditorium.
The colloquium includes seven presentations by Laboratory staff members, followed by a short question-and-answer session. Presenters and topics include
• Craig Eberhart of Meteorology and Air Quality (ENV-MAQ), measurements of air contaminants at the Laboratory during the Cerro Grande fire
•Danny Katzman of Environmental Geology and Spatial Analysis (EES-9), sediment and contaminant transport after the Cerro Grande fire
• Bruce Gallaher of Water Quality and Hydrology (ENV-WQH), water quality and stream flow after the Cerro Grande fire
• Phil Fresquez, ENV-MAQ, the effects of the Cerro Grande fire (smoke and fallout ash) on possible contaminants in foodstuffs
• Rich Mirenda of Environmental Characterization and Remediation (ENV-ECR), results of three post-Cerro Grande fire risk assessments
• Sam Loftin of Ecology (ENV-ECO), post-fire rehabilitation and recovery
• Randy Balice, ENV-ECO, a preliminary probabilistic wildfire risk model: proof of concept.
For more information, contact Brian Thompson of ENV Division at 7-9308.
